Swiss court may cancel trial of Assad's uncle due to illness

Swiss judicial authorities have suggested the trial of the uncle of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad could be shelved due to the defendant's illness and has asked parties to the case for feedback, a spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rifaat al-Assad, 87, the uncle of Bashar al-Assad, was due to face trial in Switzerland for alleged crimes committed dating back to his time as a military commander in 1982. It is a rare trial of crimes against humanity in Switzerland and comes amid growing hope for justice for victims after a half-century of Assad family rule ended this month.

"I can confirm to you that due to the state of health of the accused, who would be physically incapable of travelling to Switzerland and psychologically incapable of participating in debates, those responsible for the trial invited the parties to decide on whether to close the case," a spokesperson for the Federal Criminal Court said in response to Reuters' questions.

She added that the court - the highest criminal authority in the country - has not yet taken a decision on whether or not to terminate the case and expected to have input from all parties by mid-January. The trial's status was first reported by Le Matin Dimanche.

In a statement on March 12 about the case, his lawyers said in a statement: "Mr. Al-Assad has always denied any involvement in the acts of which he is accused in these proceedings."

The Attorney General's office said in March that Rifaat al-Assad had been charged with "ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatments and illegal detentions" in Feb. 1982 when he was in charge of troops in the western city of Hama.

His current whereabouts are unknown. He lived in exile, mostly in France, from the mid-1980s, after being accused of trying to topple his brother, then-President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father.

The Attorney General's Office initiated war crimes proceedings against Rifaat al-Assad in December 2013 under the principle of universal jurisdiction and non-applicability of statutory limitations to war crimes. Police established that Assad was present in Switzerland when the investigation was initiated and several victims filed civil complaints.

According to the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code, in the absence of the defendant, a trial in absentia is possible under certain conditions.